Dr Susan Cunliffe, 48, had 21 sessions of the electro-convulsive therapy at Worcestershire Royal Hospital between 2004 and 2005

A doctor who underwent 21 sessions of a controversial 'electric shock' therapy to combat her depression claims the treatment has left her brain damaged and unemployable.

Dr Susan Cunliffe, 48, had 21 sessions of the electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) at Worcestershire Royal Hospital between 2004 and 2005 to combat depression following the break-up of her marriage.

But she claims the ECT treatment, which sees patients have an electric current sent through their brain to trigger an epileptic fit, has left her permanently damaged.

The mother-of-three says her speech and mobility have been reduced and she has been left unable to do her job.

She is now demanding an independent scientific study is carried out to examine the effects of ECT.

Dr Cunliffe said: 'By the time I finished ECT I was left with memory problems, an inability to recognise faces or to navigate.

'Towards the end my hands shook, I couldn't walk in a straight line and I fell over repeatedly.

'I couldn't walk through doors without bumping into door frames.

'My speech was slurred and I had word finding problems.'

Although ECT is extremely effective, it is only used on people who need treatment quickly: those who are very severely depressed, who are at risk from taking their own lives, and perhaps cannot look after themselves, or those who have not responded to other treatments.

NICE, the Government’s health watchdog, has judged it suitable for use in severe depression, and every year around 12,000 Britons undergo the treatment.

Dr Cunliffe, of Broadwas, Worcestershire, said she was told the side effects might include headaches and short term memory loss but no one mentioned possible brain damage.

Dr Cunliffe added: 'Eleven years on, whilst much improved, I tire easily and as I do my functioning rapidly deteriorates.

'I cannot make decisions I become devoid of emotions except those of irritability and tearfulness.

But she claims the ECT treatment, which sees patients have an electric current sent through their brain to trigger an epileptic fit, has left her permanently damaged. The mother-of-three says her speech and mobility have been reduced and she has been left unable to do her job

Dr Cunliffe, of Broadwas, Worcestershire, said she was told the side effects might include headaches and short term memory loss but no one mentioned possible brain damage

'I have not been given closure and have had to live for the last ten years with a serious disability.

'I first had my brain damage diagnosed towards the end of 2007, two years after it (ECT) happened.'

Dr Cunliffe has received support from West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin who is trying to lobby Parliament to examine the use of ECT.

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A spokesperson for the Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust said: 'We are aware of a request to look into the treatment given to Mrs Cunliffe back in 2005 by our predecessor trust, and will be meeting with her over the next few weeks to discuss next steps.

'It is important that patients are reassured the ECT department was independently accredited as 'excellent' in 2008 and then again in 2011 by regulators.'

ELECTRIC SHOCK THERAPY: MEDICINE'S MOST CONTROVERSIAL TREATMENT

The controversial treatment was introduced in 1938 by an Italian neurologist Ugo Cerletti, who was allegedly inspired by watching pigs being stunned with electric shock before being butchered in Rome.

Although ECT is extremely effective, it is only used on people who need treatment quickly: those who are very severely depressed, who are at risk from taking their own lives, and perhaps cannot look after themselves, or those who have not responded to other treatments.

ECT involves sending an electric current through the brain to trigger an epileptic fit, with the aim, in most cases, of relieving severe depression. It is occasionally used to treat mania or catatonia (stock picture)

ECT involves sending an electric current through the brain to trigger an epileptic fit, with the aim, in most cases, of relieving severe depression. It is occasionally used to treat mania or catatonia.

During treatment, the patient is put under anaesthetic and given a muscle relaxant to reduce the risk of serious injury when they go into spasm.

Electrodes are placed either side of the forehead and a current is passed between them.

This triggers a seizure lasting between 20 and 50 seconds and a single course of treatment can involve up to 12 sessions, spread out over several weeks.